Westwood takes over golf’s top spot from Woods
PARIS, France (AFP) — Lee Westwood’s consecration yesterday as the world’s top golfer bears testament to the consistency and sheer perseverance of the popular and down-to-earth Englishman.
Typically, his capture of the world number one spot from Tiger Woods was a low-key affair with Westwood not even playing this week as he recovers from a calf muscle injury that has dogged him for the last two months.
Ideally he would have wanted to take the top spot on the course, but the vagaries of the rolling two-year system operated by the world rankings meant he did not have to wait until then.
“I’ll take it any way,” the 37-year-old commented last week on the prospect of topping the rankings while not actually playing,” he said.
Such dizzy heights are all a long way from nine years ago when Westwood’s form had slumped so dramatically that his world ranking had fallen outside the top 250.
Many golf observers were left puzzled by this abrupt about-turn in the fortunes of a golfer who had signalled his precocious talent by ending Colin Montgomerie’s seven-year run as European Order of Merit winner in 2000 and rising to world number four.
Westwood took an extended break from the game in late 2001 following the birth of his first son and underwent a drastic overhaul of his swing employing the talents of golfing guru David Leadbetter.